³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

and should prove to be really exciting opposition. Sri Lanka are a side in transition with record-breaking spinner now retired from international cricket and "Malinga the Slinger"

But Sri Lanka should provide plenty of excitement - their two warm-up games already have been fascinating affairs including despite having to follow on.

Then later in the summer, world champions India come to town with perhaps a last chance for English supporters to see the likes of Rahul Dravid and playing international cricket in the UK.

Cook, Strauss and Broad will all lead England this summer. Picture: Getty Images

There have already been quite a few talking points even before the international summer has started. England suddenly have three different captains and it will be fascinating to see how the Strauss-Cook-Broad axis will perform.

The selectors sprang a bit of a surprise despite the Essex batsman turning down the Indian Premier League and showing good early season form.

But the selectors decided to show consistency, going with Morgan who was the reserve batsman at the Ashes and who managed to show great timing with a big century against the tourists.

Cardiff is the venue for Thursday's opening game - only the second Test ever to be held in the Welsh capital. Let's hope it lives up to the first match during the 2009 Ashes, when somehow to secure what turned out to be a crucial draw.

Jonathan Agnew will lead the Test Match Special team as usual on Thursday, sharing ball by ball commentary with Sri Lankan broadcaster Roshan Abeysinghe and his excellency, the president Christopher Martin-Jenkins. This summer CMJ is fitting TMS around his ceremonial duties and I can't wait to hear tales of how he manages to juggle his busy schedule.

I remember telling his predecessor that although it was a great appointment , there would be room for plenty of chaos. I warned him that it was more than likely that for most MCC events Christopher would turn up at the wrong time, on the wrong day and most probably at the wrong ground.

One of my abiding memories from the World Cup was during a game at the in Colombo coming back from the media centre to see CMJ desperately trying to open the door of a commentary box because he had arrived late for a stint. I had to go over and point out that he was trying to open the door of the wrong commentary box.

Joining CMJ, Aggers and Roshan in Cardiff will be summarisers Michael Vaughan, Geoff Boycott and Vic Marks. Vaughan will probably be glad of a sit-down after just completing a 230-mile charity cycle ride from Cork to Dublin.

Sir Geoffrey will hopefully have less trouble getting into the ground in Cardiff than he did at several venues during the World Cup in India where he at one ground demanded to see an army general after security threatened to confiscate his sandwiches and at another pretended to be one of the umpires to get through the crowds!

And it remains to be seen whether Victor has dry-cleaned his trusty old jacket ahead of the new season after a busy winter for him and his limited wardrobe.

All your usual favourites will be on duty throughout this summer with Henry Blofeld, Simon Mann, Simon Hughes and Phil Tufnell all appearing with the likes of Mark Butcher, Marcus Trescothick and Alec Stewart popping in from time to time.

Alec will be on duty for ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 5 live in Cardiff alongside Pat Murphy as they bring the normal updates every 15 minutes plus lots of reaction to each day's play during 5 live Sport, and Aggers and Boycs will round up events each day in the legendary TMS Podcast, available to download shortly after play.

And as always we want you to get involved either by e-mailing us at tms@bbc.co.uk, texting 84040, contributing to this TMS blog or reacting to our various Twitter sites like Jonathan Michael , our statistical expert Malcolm Ashton or myself

After spending the Ashes embedded in the TMS team, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Sport website writer Tom Fordyce will once again be part of our team bringing his normal alternative view on the cricket and life behind the scenes on TMS with blogs, features and via Twitter

Plus, Tom will be showing off his own sporting pedigree as puts him through his paces to show how he has made England one of the best fielding sides in world cricket. You'll be able to hear how he got on during one of the intervals in Cardiff.

We have a Welsh sporting legend as our first "View from the Boundary" of the summer with rugby great joining Aggers during the lunch interval on Saturday. Plus in other intervals we'll hear about the launch of "Cricket Wales" and about the fascinating project where the MCC and University of Glamorgan are producing an oral history of cricket in the UK and Sri Lanka. And former Glamorgan opener turned England managing director Hugh Morris will join us to explain why they have gone for the three-captain approach.

And just a couple of dates for your diary. presents his first "World of Sport" show on 5 live at 2000 BST on Thursday evening, Michael Vaughan and Phil Tufnell are part of the regular "Monday Night Cricket Club" starting on 5 live on 30 May, and I am delighted to announce that ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ 5 live sports extra will have ball-by-ball commentary from this season's domestic Twenty20 competition starting with a repeat of - Hampshire v Somerset - on 1 June.